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Battle of Blogia
The Battle of Blogia was a major engagement during the Dozen Year War. The battle ended in defeat for the Tierrans and devastated her officer corps, although the army was able to retreat in good order due to the actions of the Duke of Havenport, the Royal Dragoons, Lieutenant Colonel Hunter of the Grenadier Guards, and Baron Tourbridge and his brigade. Prelude Following several years of indecisive battles, Prince Mikhail of Khorobit, one of the most powerful lords of the congress, assembled a massive army of 42,000 Antari serfs and marched south to throw the Tierrans back into the sea. The Duke of Wulfram, having been threatened with dismissal if he didn't win a significant victory within the year to break the stalemate, gathered his own forces, numbering 17,300 and marched to meet Khorobit in open battle. Order of Battle * Tierra Under the command of the Duke of Wulfram, the vast majority of the Tierran Army in Antar was gathered to give battle to Prince Mikhail's force. 19 Infantry Regiments, 5 Cavalry Regiments and 72 field guns traveled up the Imperial Highway to Blogia. The Infantry Regiments were organised into 3 brigades under the command of the Duke of Havenport, the Earl of Castermaine and the Baron of Tourbridge. Wulfram himself took charge of the army's single cavalry brigade, containing 4 of the 5 cavalry regiments fielded by the Tierrans at the battle. * Antar Prince Mikhail of Khorobit had gathered a 42,000 man strong army, mostly comprised of peasant levies, soldiers and nobles sworn to him. The army composes of 24,500 Infantry, 8,500 Light Cavalry and 78 Field Guns with 5000 crew. Most notably, however, is the 4500 heavily armed and armoured Church Hussars that has followed him into battle. The army was organized into three major segments under the command of Prince Mikhail of Khorobirit on the left, Prince Ivan of Jugashvil in the centre and Prince Konstantin of Noribirit on the right. Battle Plan The two armies arrived in the abandoned town of Blogia, overlooked by a ruined castle. Despite the fact that the Antari arrived first, they chose to leave the high ground, in the form of a shallow ridge, to the Tierrans. Wulfram deploys the Royal Dragoons to the ruins of castle Blogia on the far left flank, near the great forest, a thick woods considered impassable by cavalry. He then deploys his infantry to the ridge in a 4 kilometer long line, Havenport's Brigade on the left, Tourbridge's Brigade on the right and Castermaine's Brigade in the center. The Tierran artillery is then deployed to both the left and right side of the Infantry, intentionally leaving a blind spot on the left flank in front of the castle. Wulfram's plan is to draw the Antari Cavalry into charging the left flank and then using his own Cavalry on the right to flank the Antari, wheel his infantry left and envelop the Antari army. Khorobit has other ideas: he plans to use his light cavalry and a small force of Hussars to storm the castle, however, this is only a backup plan. His main plan is to use his Hussars, that are hiding in the woods on the Tierran right flank, to crush the Tierran cavalry and flank their infantry, smashing them by the regiment. Battle Late in the morning the Antari infantry advance and by noon the armies are exchanging fire. by 1:20 Pm the Antari are driven back and Khorobit is forced the fire on is own men to prevent a full rout. His plan succeeds and the his infantry re-engage with the Tierrans. Khorobirit then springs his trap: he orders his Church Hussars to charge out of the forest where they had moved the night before. Wulfram orders his cavalry to meet the Hussars and in the following cavalry melee, the Tierrans are driven back with 60-80% casualties, including Wulfram himself. While the cavalry was engaged however, Baron Tourbridge, commander of the Tierran right flank, has ordered his regiments to form squares and manage to hold off the Antari while the Duke of Havenport takes command of the now leaderless army. Assaulting the Tierran right with both infantry, cavalry and artillery, Khorobirit manages to finally break the Tierran squares, killing the Baron of Tourbridge himself and destroying an entire battalion's worth of Aetorian Grenadier Guards at the centre when Lt.-colonel Hunter ordered an attack to save the precious artillery. The delaying action, however, has served its purpose. The Duke of Havenport has ordered the reserves from both his own brigade, as well as the reserves from Castermaine's Brigade into position on the right, and the Tierran flank is refused to the Antari. With the threat to his flank temporarily under control, Havenport then orders his infantry to commence a fighting retreat. At about 2:30 pm the commander of the Antari light cavalry and lieutenant colonel Marras of the Royal Dragoons both get the same idea to advance with the majority of their forces. about 600 Dragoons charge the Antari infantry on the Tierran left flank, but they are in turn soon swarmed by 4,500 Antari light cavalry. The Dragoons, owing to their better training and equipment, put up a desperate defense and manage to beat back multiple attacks but are eventually pushed back with 70% casualties, only about 200-250 making it out with the rest either dead or taken prisoner. Despite the Dragoons stiff resistance, about 650 Antari light cavalry and a dozen Church Hussars manage to bypass the defenders and charge towards the castle. The castle is defended by a minor force of Dragoons (2-3 troops depending on the player's decisions) left behind when the remainder of the Regiment charged forth to drawn the enemy's attention. They have prepared defenses and are determined to stop the Antari from breaking through and threatening the retreat of the army. The Antari cavalry, while relatively low quality, are more than capable enough of causing severe damage and disruption the the rear Tierran lines. The Dragoons hold off repeated Antari attacks until about 5:30 PM when Prince Konstantin of Norobirit realised that there is only about 30 minutes of usable daylight left. He then makes the decision to commit himself and his personal bodyguard of Church Hussars to try and break through the Dragoon's lines. They Hussars are repulsed and, depending on the player's decisions, Norobirit is killed by the player's men. By that time the Tierran infantry have retreated into the forest and the Antari are regrouping, allowing the castle's defenders to withdraw to safety. The Antari losses at the castle are 320 killed and 300 wounded. They also lose about a dozen Hussars. The Dragoons lose between 30-45 men and 30-60 wounded at the castle. Results Losses: Tierran losses at the battle: Around 3000 killed, 2400 wounded and a little under 1000 taken prisoner. In total around 6400. The Tierran dead notably include the Duke of Wulfram, the Baron of Tourbridge, the Earl of Welles, the Viscount of Wolfswood and many other senior officers. Total Antari losses at the battle: Around 5300 killed and 4500 wounded, in total around 9800. Antari casualties include 250 Church Hussars, all of which are nobles and several of which were members of the league congress. Effect: With over a third of his forces killed, wounded or captured, The Duke of Havenport retreated all the way back to Noringia and started fortifying his position in anticipation of a new Antari attack. Khorobirit however was in no state to follow up on his victory. Despite winning Antar's biggest victory over the Tierrans yet, his forces were spent and not ready to face a protracted siege so far from his own supply base and with winter approaching. The Tierrans had been bloodied and he saw himself content, for now at least, knowing that. For the next two years, Tierran Army forces is trapped in the Great Forest and cannot engage any major conflict with the Antari. Aftermath United Kingdom of Tierra In the aftermath of the Antari victory, King Miguel of Tierra decides to arrive on Antar proper to take personal command of the army and with the death of the Duke of Wulfram, the Duke of Havenport is appointed as his replacement as Councillor Militant. In an effort to replace the losses of the army, King Miguel also orders the beginning of limited conscription of the unemployed,vagabonds and debtors. League of Antar Starved of crucial support by his rivals in the congress of lords Khorobitis forced to halt his advance and to begin launching probing raids on the the Tierran's defensive line. Whilst defending himself from political rivals who fear the newfound prestige and strength that Khorobit has earned.